Oil burning heater



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OIL BURNING HEATER Filed Nov. 28, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec.3l, 1935.

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Dec. 31, 1935.

w. T. BRADBURY 2,026,340

OIL BURNING HEATER Filed Nov. 28, 1932 2.Sheets-Sheet 2 OCS IUU/Tz/H Mmmm T (Bmdbzmy, ./37 mi, a M

Patented Dee. 31, 1935 UNITED STATES OIL BURNING HEATER William T. Bradbury, Kankakee, Ill., assignor to Florence Stove Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 28, 1932, Serial No. 644,623

' 5 Claims. (Cl. 126-93) 'The invention relates generallyy to oil burning heaters, and more particularly to heaters of the cabinet type, wherein air circulating through the cabinet is heated by intimate contact with the walls of a combustion chamber within the cabinet.

An important object of the invention is to provide in a heater of the cabinet type having -one or more oil burners, means of an advantageous character for mounting the burners and their oil supply connections and controls to the end that the parts of the heater may be assembled expeditiously and with a high degree` of accuracy.

Another object is to provide such a heater wherein the air for supporting combustion is controlled by means of a simple character adapted to cause preheating of the air. I

Another pbject is to provide a heater which responds rapidly to the heat of the burners and delivers promptly a substantial volume of heated.

air.

Another object is to effect economy of manu-` facture by providing a heater of this character wherein preliminary assembly of the elements produces a plurality of major units which are subsequentlyassembled to complete the heater.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heater of this type having an easily filled humidifier tank of large capacity removably mounted in the heater to facilitate cleaning of the tank and so located as to insure mixture of the water vapor with the warmed air discharged from the heater cabinet.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of a heater embodying the features of the invention, the view being taken along the line I-I of Fig.'2.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the heater taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the heater.

Fig. 4 is a plan section of the heater taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the base unit of the heater prior to the mounting of the inner and outer casings thereon.

In the form illustrated the invention is embodied in a cabinet type heater having a base I0 supporting an upstanding inner casing II `Within the lower portion of the combustion chamber is a pair of oil burners I3 adapted to heat air which is circulated about the casing II in a space I4 formed between the casing II I and a surrounding ornamental cabinet or outer 5 casing I5. The air to be heated enters the space I 4 through openings I6 in the base I0 and through openings I'I in the outer casing I5 adjacent its lower edge, and is discharged through openings I 8 in the upper portion of the outer 1o casing I5 and through openings I9 in a removable cover plate 20. The latter forms the top of the outer casing I5.

The burners I3 are of a conventional type, each having a base ring 2| providing a plurality of con- 15 centric troughs 22 lntercommunicating at 22n to which fuel is supplied for burning within a plurality of concentric apertured tubes 23 which extend upwardly from the base ring. A pair of transverse tie rods 24 extending through the 20 tubes 23 serve to secure the tubes together so that all of the tubes can be tilted, as about a point 23, see Fig. 1, or removed as a unit. Thus the tubes 23 form a unitary structure which may be raised from the ring as shown in Fig. 1 for the 25 purpose of lighting the burner. To facilitate the raising of the combustion tubes one of the tie rods 24 is extended to form a forwardly projecting handle 24 (Fig. 1).

VFuel oil is supplied to the burners I3 from a sup- 30 ply tank 25 mounted on the rear side of the outer casing I5, by an oil feed line 26 including, in series, a manual valve 21 adjacent to the tank,

a conventional constant-level control device 28 d and a pair of valves 29 (Fig. 4) mounted in a com- 35 mon valve casing 29 and controlling branch conduits 30 leading from the casing 29a to the two burners I3.

To insure proper operation of the burners it is essential that the burners and the various ele- 40 mentsof the fuel feed line bear at all times an accurately adjusted relation to each other, and the convenient assembly of the parts is also desirable. This is accomplished in the present instance by constructing and arranging the elements of the heater and the fuel feed line so that the burners and the feed line may be mounted and adjusted on the rigid base I0, and subse` quently mounting thereon the inner and outer casings II and I5.

With this end in view the base I0, the burners I3, the fuel feed and control elements are constructed so as to permit assembly thereof apart from the other elements of the heater to form a The base Ill preferably comprises a relatively thin, rigid plate 33 which may be of cast iron as in the present case. 'I'he base plate 33 is dished or depressed between the openings I6 so as to catch any overflow of oil from the burners I3. At its outer edges the base plate 33 has downwardly extending flanges 33a to which supporting legs 34 are bolted. At the lower end of each leg 33 is a leveling screw 35.

The burners I3 are rigidly supported on the base plate 33 by vertical bolts 3| secured at their upper ends in the burner rings 2l. A plurality of bolts 3l are provided for each burner I3, and the lower ends thereof project through the base plate 33 and have nuts 32 and 32a thereon above and below the base plate for leveling the burners.

From each burner I3 a pipe 36, communicat` ing with the inner one of the troughs 22, extends downwardly through the base plate 33 for connection `with one of the branch conduits 36. The plugged lower ends of the pipes 36 are accessible below the base plate so as to serve as cleanout fittings for removing carbon from the feed line adjacent to the burners. Each branch conduit 30 extends forwardly and' laterally from the pipe 36 to the adjacent forward corner of the base casting 33 and then upwardly for connection with a T-fltting `31 located above the base casting. To complete each branch conduit to its valve 29, a pipe 3l)a (Fig. 4). extends from each T-tting 31 tothe valve casing 29 which for convenience is centrally positioned at the forward edge of the base casting. The pipes 3l)a extend `-through an upwardly projecting fiange 38 of the base plate so as to be rigidly held in position.

' Fromy each T-tting 31 a vent pipe 31a extends upwardly to a point above the burner ring 2| to prevent the formation of air pockets in the fuel. line.

From the valve casing 29, the common fuel supply line 26 extends beneath the. base plate 33 and through one of the openings I6 which are formed in a 'sloping portion of the rear flange l33%, and the end of the line 26 is connected with the constant-level control device 28 which is supported on a bracket 40 bolted rigidly to the rear edge of the base plate. Between the valve 21 and the control device 28 is a suitable pipe connection In practice the burners and the various elements of the fuel feed line may be assembled and adjusted as shown in Fig. 5 to form a base unit. This unit is relatively small and may be easily handled by the workman, and all of the operations of mounting and adjustment are performed at points which are readily accessible. The inner and outer casings II and I5, therefore, do not obstruct or complicate the assembly of the elements of the base unit, and are subsequently put in place on the base unit without disturbing the adjustment of the parts of the base unit.

The inner and outer casings I I and I5 are preferably constructed of relatively thin plates of sheet metal secured together by flanges and bolts in a conventional manner. The two casings are assembled as separate units and are separately mounted on the base I0. During such mounting operations access to the interior of the casings is afforded through the upper ends thereof, the cover plate 2li-of the outer casing I5 being removable, and the inner casing I I being provided with a top wall II which may be bolted in place after the other mounting operations have been completed. The cover plate 20 of the outer casing is preferably held in place at its forward edge by interengaging anges I5 and at its rear edge by spring catches`20a (Figs. 1 and 3). 5

After bolting the lower edge of the inner casing II to the base plate 33, the outer casing I5 is lowered into surrounding relation with notches 43 and 44 in its front and rear edges fitting about the valves 29 and the bracket 40. The lower edge 10 of the outer casing is then bolted to the base plate adjacent to the lower edge of the ange 33a. A moulding 45preferably extends about the low'er edge of the front and sides of the outer casing I5 so as to conceal the bolted joint between the 15 outer casing andthe base, and a corresponding moulding 45a may be provided centrally of the cabinet. l

Access to the burners I3 is obtained through the forward sides of the casings II and I5, a door 20 frame 46 being mounted in suitable openings formed therein directly in front of the burners I3. 'I'he door frame 46 is bolted in place after the two casings have been securedon the base unit, and it spans the space between the casings. A door 25 41 pivoted at its lower edge to the frame 46 serves to close the opening and is held in its closed position by a latch device 48.

. In the operation of theheater, air to be heated passes upwardly into the space I4 through the 30 relatively large openings I6 which are formed at spaced intervals about the baseplate in the angular portion of the flange 33a as shown in Fig. 4. The base plate 33 also has openings 50 therein beneath the burners I3 through which air may 35 pass for supporting combustion; and horizontal air distributor plates 52 are mounted above the openings 50 by means of lugs 5I. The air passing upwardly Vthrough the openings 56 strikes the plates 52 and is deflected and distributed thereby 40 horizontally into the d combustion bhamber. Hence sudden drafts or blasts which might affect the operation of the burners are eifectually broken up. Moreover, the quantity of air entering the combustion chamber is determined by the 45 size of the openings 5I)- and by the distributor plates 52 so as to produce uniform operation of the burners. j

Provision is preferably made for preheating the air supplied to the burners. This is attained in 50 the present embodiment by a plate 53 mounted horizontally beneath the base plate 33 inspaced relation thereto, so as to form a heat-retaining space through which the air must pass to the openings 58. The quantity as well as'the path 55 of such air is determined by an upstanding flange 54 on the 'plate 53 which extends upwardly into contact with the base plate 33 and has a row of apertures 55 formed therein for the admission of air. 60

The plate 53 and its flange 54 enclose substantially the entire fuel feed line 26, suitable slots 56 being formed in the flange 55 for the forwardly and rearwardly extending ends of the feed line. To provide for access to the feed line, the plate 65 53 is removably secured in position by wing nuts 51 engaging bolts 58 depending from the base plate 33. The plate 53 provides a drip pan beneath the enclosed elements of the fuel feed line, and also serves as an insulator to maintain a 70 low oor temperature beneath the heater.

The fuel tank 25 is removably supported on the rear wall of the casing I5 in spaced relation thereto by a bracket 59, bolted to the casing above the level of the control device 28, and hav- 75 chamber.

To prevent overheating of the fuel tank a baffle plate 65 is positioned between the outer casing I and the tank. This baille plate is flanged at its upper and lower edges and fitted snugly between the brackets 59 and 62 so as to be supported thereby. If desired, a shield 61 may be extended upwardly from the baille plate 65 between the brackets 62 and rearwardly over the fuel tank 25 so as to be positioned beneath a flue pipe 68 which extends rearwardly from the combustion The flue pipe 68 is bolted at its inner end to the inner casing II, this operation being performed prior to the mounting of the top plates IIa and 20.

The heater is also provided'with humidifying means comprising a relatively large reservoir 69 mounted on the rear side of the outer casing I5, so as to project through an openingm into the space Il., Preferably the opening 16 is positioned between the brackets 59 and 62 so as to bc spanned by the fuel tank 25, and the reservoir 69 is mounted therein so as to be removable for cleaning when the tank 25 and the baffle 65 have been dismounted. At the lower edge of the water reservoir depending flanges 1I and 12 are adapted to fit over and on opposite sides of the flanged lower edge of the opening 16 to hold the bottom of the reservoir in position; while a flange 13 at the upper and outer edge of the reservoir engages the outer surface of the casing` I5 above the opening and is held in place by two rotatable latchesv14 (Fig. 3) mounted on the casing I5. The reservoir is of a. width somewhat greater than the width of the oil tank and at one end has a filling spout 15 (Fig. 4) projecting rearwardly from the rear wall of the outer casing I5. The top of the reservoir 69 within the space I4 is, of course, open to permit water vapor to rise therefrom into the warm air in the space I4. By reason of its position between the heat source and the fuel tank, the water reservoir when filled provides substantial heat insulation for the tank. This feature of the invention is more 'particularly described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 746,175, filed September 29, 1934.

Within the inner casing of the cabinet is a pair of air circulating tubes 16 extending through the combustion chamber I2 above the burners I3 so as to be directly in the path of the hot gases from the burners. The tubes 16 are oppositely positioned at an angle to the` vertical so as to promote circulation of air therethrough, and the tubes at their opposite ends open through the casing II and into the space I4. The upper end of each tube 16 is fixed.A to the casing II by a flange 11 bolted to the casing so as to prevent leakage of flue gases from the combustion chamber, while the lower end of each tube 16 is associated with the casing so as to permit longitudinal expansion of the tubes. The lower ends of the tube 16 therefore extend through the casing II and are slidable through rings 18 which are bolted to the casing II to provide gland connection; preventing the escape of ilue gases from the combustion chamber.

The tubes 16, being in the path of the flame and the hot gases, act as bailies and arequickly heated so as to start upward movement of warmed air through the tubes immediately after the burners have been lighted. This air is dis- 5 charged from the heater through'relatively large openings 19 (Fig. 2) formed in the outer casing I5 substantially in alinement with the upper ends of the tubes 16. Thus warm air is discharged from the heater in substantial amounts before the 10 entire heater has been fully warmed.

It will be evident that the present heater, being adapted for assembly in separate units prior to final assembly, is adapted for accurate adjustment and economical production. Moreover, the 15 control of the air for combustion is obtained by simple means which contributes to the economy of manufacture of the device. Since the air control means also serves to preheat such air, eincient operation of the burners is promoted.

The humidifying tank in the heater disclosed is of large capacity and it will be apparent that by reason of the novel mounting thereof, is adapted for ready removal for cleaning even though it is mounted in an inconspicuous location. It will 25 also be apparent that the heater responds quickly to the heat of the burner so as to deliver promptly a substantial volume ofheated air.

I claim as my invention:

1. A heater of the character described comprising a base unit having a horizontally positioned base plate, supporting legs for said plate, an oil burner adjustably mounted on said plate, an oil supply line for said burner mounted on said plate and including a pipe adapted for connection with a fuel tank, a constant-level control device fed from said pipe and mounted on said base plate, and a manual control valve in said line between said device and said burner, an inner casing unit and an outer casing unit adapted for o mounting on said base unit in spaced relation after assembly and adjustment of the parts of said base unit, and a fuel tank carried by said outer casing adapted for connection with said pipe.

2. A cabinet type oil burning heater comprising, in combination, a base unit having a relatively fi'at base plate with flanges extending angularly downwardly at its edges, said flanges having relatively large openings formed in their angular portions, supporting legs secured to and extending downwardly from said flanges, an oil burner mounted on the upper side of said base plate, a constant level control device mounted in fixed relation to but above the level of said base plate beyond the rear edge thereof, an oil feed line extending from said device through one of said openings in the rear flange and forwardly beneath said base plate, a valve fitting connected to said line at the forward edge of said plate, a conduit extending from said valve and beneath said plate, a pipe connected to said conduit below said plate and extending upwardly through said plate to feed sai burner, inner and outer casings secured on said ase in spaced relation so that 65 the space betwe iksdaid casings communicates l with said openings in the flanges of the base plate, and a fuel tank connected to said constant level device.

3. A heater of the character described comprising spaced inner and outer casings, the inner casing constituting a combustion chamber and the outer casing being apertured to permit circulation of air therethrough in contact with the inner casing, an oil burner Within said inner tively large water reservoir positioned in said openings and projecting into the space between said casings, means removably supporting said reservoir in position on said outer casing, and a filling spout projecting outwardly from said reservoir along one side of said tank.

4. A heater of the character described comprising spaced inner and outer casings, said outer casing having openings adjacent to the top and bottom thereof through which air may circulate in contact with the inner casing, an oil burner within said inner casing, a fuel supply tank removably supported on one side of said outer casing, a fuel supply connection between said tank and said burner including a pipe detachably connected to said tank, said outer casing having a relatively large opening therein across which said tank extends, and a, water reservoir removably secured to said outer casing so as to project into the space between the'inner and outer casing, said reservoir having a top opening and being removable for cleaning when said fuel tank has been removed.

5. A heater of the character described cornprising a, base unit, an oil burner, an oil supply line for said burner including a constant level control device adapted to be fed from a source of fuel supply and a manual control valve in said line between said device and said burner, all mounted on said base unit and relatively adjustable to insure a proper feed to the burner, and an inner and an outer casing adapted to be mounted on said base unit after assembly and adjustment of the burner and the parts of the oil supply line on said base unit.

WILLIAM T. BRADBURY. 

